


How I look on you (Say you want me anyway)

by Alexa_Plays



Series: Show 'em how it's done [2]
Category: Formula 1 RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Spies & Secret Agents, Childhood Friends, Flashbacks, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Tags Are Hard, Weddings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-22
Updated: 2020-07-24
Packaged: 2021-03-03 00:34:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 13,458
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24315874
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alexa_Plays/pseuds/Alexa_Plays
Summary: Don't blame him. It felt like one of the best days of his life. He was proud and happy because he was the only one who knew how much his best friend - and boyfriend - worked to archive his goal. It was his moment.And Charles couldn't steal it from him. He never would dare.---💙---Or a spy!AU featuring a-not-so-good liar, a few clueless friends, terrible but also useful advices and a famous F1 driver.(Oh, there is a wedding too).
Relationships: Daniel Ricciardo/Max Verstappen, Pierre Gasly/Charles Leclerc
Series: Show 'em how it's done [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1693462
Comments: 10
Kudos: 73





	1. Bleue

**Author's Note:**

> Here we go again.  
> This is the sequel of "Even though you know we fly (Don't call me angel)", but it's not necessary to have read it previously.  
> More characters, more drama, same lame jokes. 
> 
> English is not my first language. 
> 
> Please, enjoy.

**Zandvoort, Netherlands. 2:36 AM. Max's apartment.**

If there is one thing Max misses the most when he is stuck in a long-term mission that would certainly be playing video game.

(Yes, he loves his mother and sister, but also video games). 

Not only because playing videogames needs focus, helps you to keep fit, keeps your mind working, but also, it's where he can beat anyone he wants to: there are no rules - and even if there are, who cares? No, not Max. 

Playing videogame makes him feel free. 

Since Charles used to escape from his invitations and Alex wasn't fond of the gamer’s universe, Max finally found someone who shares the same hobby as him: Lando. 

The Dutchman doesn't want to agree out loud, but, inside his mind, he knows Lando is way better than him at some games - he still wins all rounds in FIFA, iRacing and Call Of Duty. Meanwhile, that also means that they can beat everyone when they play in the same team. 

After a long-term mission, Max invited his friends to relax in his apartment in Zandvoort. Yes, the Dutchman owes a lot of inhabitations around the world. He knows how to spend his money. Zandvoort, however, manages to be one of his favorites places because he appreciates the cold weather, the silent and the comfort the city offers. 

Zandvoort becomes a more than special place to be when Max spent weeks in countries like Marocco, where it's hot the entire year and barely rains. 

The apartment is spacious and clear. Max didn't bother to make a such of decoration for a place he visits time to time. His requirements are summed up in videogames and simulators; an orthopedic mattress because his spine terrifies him; and a vast freezer for his babies, aka Red Bull's cans. 

On the other hand, Lando just wants to taste new foods - mostly stroopwafel because, please, who don't like stroopwafel? 

While Lando and Max are playing in the living room, Alex is just chilling in guest room. He needs at least one hour and a half per day to meditation. After the last mission, it is secure to say he can spend a day meditating and doing yoga alone. 

But that's a kind of impossible when you have two friends shouting at each other and the loudest TV in the other room. 

When Alex hears Max's laugh for the nth time, he knows Lando has crashed again. He shakes his head before resuming his stretching's routine. 

After finishing his routine, the Thai leaves the guest room to spy on his friends a little since he is in no mood for sleeping yet. Time zones and jetlag' courtesy. 

"Didn't you say you were good at simulator?", Max says, side-eyeing his partner. 

"I am good.", Lando emphasizes every word, "But I'm better in real life." 

"You wish." 

Max laughs out loud, what leads to Lando to push him off his seat. Then, Max falls to the ground, and they stare at each other for 30 seconds before laughing all over again. 

Alex, who is still crossing the hall, decides that he enjoys way better to see them like this: careless. 

"Are you two still playing?", he asks. 

"Yes, because my own best friend just abandoned me to do this meditation thing.", Max answer him without taking his eyes of the screen. 

"Did I mention that drama suits on you?.", Alex opens the freezer, looking inside it, "Is there something to drink aside Red Bull?" 

"Why should I have?", Max replies, and Alex just knows he is smirking. 

"I don't even know why I force myself to ask.", the Thai murmurs. 

"Oh, I bought milk.", Lando speaks up, looking behind his shoulder. 

"No water? Really?", Alex shakes his head, "Milk will have to do." 

Alex grabs the can of milk from the fridge and a cup from the top shelf of the cupboard. At the same time, the apartment's doorbell interrupts his action. 

Ding. 

While waiting for the game's loading, Max and Lando glance at each other, aware of the sound. 

"Again? Did you buy more food?", Max asks, groaning and sinking into his chair. 

"No?", Lando tilts his head to the side, thinking, "I don't remember?"

The Dutchman glares at him with his deep blue eyes which could froze the beaches in Jakarta. Then, Lando stands up quickly. 

"Even if I didn't, I will answer the door to show you I can be useful too." 

Alex, who is leaning against the kitchen's counter, drinks his milk, waiting for Max to start his usual complaint about how bad Lando can be at the game they were playing. 

Meanwhile, Lando opens the door and blinks twice when he sees green eyes behind a pair of glasses staring back at him. 

"Hi. I'm sorry to interrupt, but is Max here?"

The said person adjusts the pair of glasses that cover their beautiful eyes however, at same time, doesn't overshadow them. 

Lando is still static, hands holding on the handle. 

"Mates. There is someone here.", he shouts without taking his eyes off the person in front of him. 

"Thank God there is someone. What else could ring the bell?", the Dutchman says from the living room. 

"He knows your name."

Sharing looks, Max and Alex run toward the door, ready to fight - if it's necessary. 

"Charles?!"

Arriving at the door, the best friends shout at the same time, however with different voices' tone. 

"What are you doing here?", Alex smiles, surprised to see his colleague once again. 

"How the hell did you find us?"

Max crosses his arms over the chest, frowning. His neurons don't even need to work a lot to think on the answer. 

Sebastian, of course. 

"Forget it. I have already gotten the answer." 

"Can I come in?"

Charles' voice cracks as he asks, anxiously. Everybody turns towards Max, who just shrugs. 

"Just close the damn door." 

The Dutchman walks away from the door, returning to his own chair. Alex follows behind, leaving the empty glass at dishes. Another time, he would wash it in no time, but he really wants to hear what Charles is going to tell them.

Lando is the last one regressing from the hall after closing the door. At his side, Charles is busy taking off his coat covered with frost.

"We haven't heard or seen you for months.", the Dutch spy grabs the controller to turn off the console, even if he wants to play and ignore the Monegasque, however he must admit that he is curious about the suddenly visit. 

"Max misses you.", Alex jokes because it's good to mess up with his best friend from time to time. 

"No, I didn't.", Max glares at Alex, as the latter arrives at the living room. 

"Yes, you did."

"That's not the matter.", Max has had enough, "So, you better start talking before I kick you out of my apartment.", he points at Charles, who takes a seat beside Lando on the couch. 

"Ah, I really missed bickering with you.", Charles sighs because it feels nostalgic to hear Max again, "Even when I am working in Paris, now, it's not the same without my rival."

"Yeah, we already know it.", the said rival rolls his eyes, "Go straight to the point." 

"I'm here to ask you a favor."

"'You'?", Alex asks, sitting on the armchair of the couch. 

"Yes, Max and you.", Charles answers, glancing at Alex's direction. 

"Why-.", the Thai spy can't complete his argument. 

"What?!", Max stands up from his chair, "Do you think you have right to ask for anything?", he laughs out loud.

"I'm not liking where this conversation is leading us up to.", Lando murmurs to himself, eyes going side to side to keep up with the conversation. 

"What happened now?", Max asks, sarcastically, walking around the living room to choose his words, "Are you sick? You are going to die?" 

"I'm engaged."

The Dutchman stops his track and turns around quickly to face his ex-colleague. 

The sudden reply makes the four people inside the room catch their breath for a moment. 

It was so quiet that could be heard a needle falling on the floor. 

Coming to their senses, the room becomes a mess again. 

"What are you saying...", Alex kits his eyebrows. 

"Are fucking kidding me?!", Max screams, not really caring about his neighbors. 

"Oh, congratulations!", Lando claps his hands. 

In milliseconds, everything makes sense to Max. 

All the excuses Charles came up, all the meetings he arrived late, all the calls he answered during missions. 

They just couldn't see it because Charles is an amazing liar. The best liar among all kind of people Max has meet - and he knows a lot of people around the world.

"We didn't even know you were dating...", the Thai babbles because he can't trust his own voice at the moment. 

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you in a more appropriate manner."

Charles shifts his position on the couch, taking a look at both of his friends. He bites on his lower lip and plays with his fingers placed on his lap. 

"A wedding is supposed to be a good thing...", Lando pouts, analyzing the situation, "So, why do you look sad?" 

"He isn't sad. He is anxious."

Max knows a lot of people but he hasn't met a person yet who could lie better than Charles. It's almost impossible to point his lies out due to all undercover missions he has gone through. So, it's not a surprise that the Monegasque managed to keep a big secret from them.

Max understands Charles' behavior and expressions because of the years they spent being teammates. 

Many years to be sure that Charles is not sad, but anxious, what isn't a common situation after all. 

"Well, I think we get you are dating.", Max crosses his arms over his chest, "Since when? And why didn't you say it before?"

"I want to!", Charles complains, "But I couldn't. It's complicated...", he shakes his head, lowing his gaze. 

"Oh, you can explain it.", the Dutchman returns to his previous seat and crosses his legs, "We have all the time." 

Charles sighs. There is no escape when Max turns on his interrogatory mode. 

"Remember when you invited me to drink, or to play videogame, or to do something off work?" 

"Of course, we remember.", Max chuckles sarcastically, "You did always turn us down."

"The reason I did it was because I had already made other plans with my fiancé." 

"You should have introduced them.", Alex interrupts, grabbing his attention, "We could have gone out together." 

"Like I said before.", Charles sighs again, "It's not that simple."

"Charles, cut the bullshit out, okay?", Max is losing it all because of the mystery his friend is doing, "What isn't simple." 

"I'm going to marry my fifth-year's boyfriend, who is also happened to be Pierre, the famous driver." 

"Okay, let's bring it back a little.", the Dutch spy waves his hands in the air, "You are dating the Toro Rosso's driver?" 

"Who is it?" 

_The first time Charles raced it was Jules who subscribed him and brought him to kart's circuit._

_He would never forget the first lap he completed. Or the checkered flag swaying in the air. Or the proud smile his godfather had on face._

_Of course, some years later, Jules was also the one who convinced Charles to compete in a real race, with opponents who had the same age as him. Nine years old Charles couldn't hold his happiness down when his parents agreed with the crazy idea of his godfather to bring him to Paris during the holidays._

_Comparing to other kids at his age, Charles was always confident on his own skills, didn't get scared easy and wasn't afraid to express himself in front of people. His father used to say self-confidence was the key to be successful in anything he wanted to do for living._

_Charles wasn't sure what he wanted to do for all his life. He was just a kid who liked to make friends, draw and play video games during free time and drive kart in weekend days._

_Being in Paris was amazing since Charles hadn't been in any place other than Monaco. Taking pictures at Eiffel Tower, eating some sophisticated food and walking by Seine River, all these stuffs were cool, but he couldn't wait to get in the kart and drive faster than anyone._

_But his dream race ended when he crashed on the last lap._

_In no time, Jules was by his side, asking him too many questions and bringing him out the arena in his arms to the medical assistance center, even if Charles was sure he didn't hurt a finger._

_All Charles could feel was anger. He was angry at himself. The crash was his own fault and he knew it was stupid to try a move he had seen on TV by professional drivers. Nobody told him over confidence could be a problem too._

_After the check out, Jules forced him to watch the podium. Charles was sad that he couldn't make it at the end. His godfather smiled and said it was okay to lose if he was being respectful with his rivals and with himself._

_Defeats shape your nature, he has been told by Jules. But it was difficult to understand the value of that phrase when you were a nine years old kid who just liked to race fast._

_"Hey, wait!"_

_Charles heard someone shouting and, seconds later, there was a hand on his right shoulder, forcing him to turn around._

_"Nice race there. I didn't almost see you coming."_

_The person in front of Charles was no other than the boy who won the race. He was even more tall up-close than the Monegasque imagined. The first thing he could notice was that the boy's eyes color matched his race suit._

_"But you won while I crashed."_

_Charles answered with his head tilted to the side, staring at the person in front of him, who had a smile in their lips._

_"Yes, I won, but that doesn't matter anymore. Nobody will remember this next week.", the boy said, shrugging, "By the way, what's your name?"_

_"Charles."_

_"I'm Pierre. I haven't seen you before. Are you new?"_

_"Yes, it's my first time here. I live in Monaco."_

_"That is amazing!", his eyes shone so bright that even stars would be jealous, "Monaco has one of the best circuits of F1. Can you watch the race by the balcony of your home too?"_

_"Not really, but my dad brought me to see it last year."_

_"You are so lucky! I wish I could go to races too. For now, I can only watch them on TV."_

_Far from his location, Jules called him to leave. Charles knew it was time to say goodbye to his new friend._

_"I hope we can meet up again. Next time, I will win.", he said confidently._

_"We will! See you."_

_Since then, Charles never skipped an opportunity to see Pierre again._

Lando quickly searches for the name on the internet and shows the results to Alex. 

"Oh, I remember to see this guy on TV.", the Alex says, staring at the screen of Lando's phone. 

"Yes, everybody saw his podium last year.", Charles answers, "And like everybody sees him every single race week."

On the other hand, Max is rolling his eyes. 

"I do still not understand how dating him is a bad thing." 

"Because it isn't!"

"Oh, are you trying to say you don't like him?", Lando gasps. 

"No, I love him with all my heart. I love him since we were children." 

"What is the problem?" 

"Me! I'm the problem.", Charles points at himself, "Pierre doesn't know I'm a spy."

"So, you just disappear for months and show up on my door, telling us you are getting married with your childhood best friend who is also a popular driver from F fucking One, but guess what? You lie to him about your job.", Max gesticulates, "That is it? Because I'm not going to be shocked if you reveal your wings and tell us you are Tinkerbell." 

_It was secure to say Charles and Pierre became best friends in no time, even living in different places._

_At first, they only saw each other when Charles traveled to France with his godfather; that is: if his parents allowed him to, but he always considered himself a very persuasive person._

_As time passed, Charles started writing letters to Pierre about the race he had watched at the weekend. His handwriting was messy back then. The replies always came quickly, writing in colorful ink._

_Some months later, they called each other for the first time. Charles liked to tell Pierre everything happened at school because the other boy was a good listener. The one who didn't like when he stole the telephone was his mom._

_Every day he thought about what it would be to have his best friend living in same city as himself._

_At age of fourteen, they finally managed to watch a F1 race together. It was Charles' favorite memory so far because everyone he loved was in it: his parents, his brothers, his godfather and his best friend._

_(Ferrari won that race, what made everything even better)._

_Still children, Pierre had told him that he was going to become a driver, no matter what cost. Charles admired his determination to run after his dreams while he wasn't sure to what he would like to do for living. Of course, he liked to drive, but he also liked other things too. You can't blame a kid who had too many hobbies._

_Though, there was a thing that he was sure: he didn't want to let go of his best friend._

_When Pierre told him that he was accepted in junior driver's program, Charles wasn't surprised at all because he had knowledge of his friend's potential and trust his talents to work hard to achieve his goals._

_That also meant that his best friend would travel around the world and spend less time listening to his complaints and dumb jokes._

_But he would be happy for everything Pierre wanted to reach out._

_Pierre's departure was followed by being knowledgeable about the family's business._

_Since Lorenzo took paths towards diplomacy and Charles didn't want to be the one who would press Arthur to make decisions that he didn't have to, he grabbed the opportunity to become a spy himself._

_At start, Charles was being trained by his father at his own house._

_Then Jules became his personal instructor._

_How to lie, how to shoot, how to be charming, how to fight, how to choose the perfect clothes, how to walk, how talk: everything he knew came from Jules' lessons._

_(Everything aside driving, of course, his talent was just natural)._

_Being approved by the agency was another great memory, but not for the same reason. Charles worked hard for it, nobody could do this aside himself._

_He quickly found out that there were a few people who were the same age as himself working in this business - four would be a high number._

_Ending paired up with a guy from Netherlands and other one from Thailand was not what he expected, however Charles could tell their abilities were in the highest level of quality when they all trained together for the first time. Meanwhile, his new boss was literally the nicest person he had met in a long time - even if his fashion sense was a bit crazy._

_Long months far away from home, few days at home. That became Charles' schedule for some years._

_Maybe the Monegasque lost a good part of his family's events, but he was sure they could understand. Charles had a job to do._

_Nevertheless, that didn't mean he could skip every single special occasion just to get his job done. Arthur's debut in F3 was the perfect example._

"Charlie, the favor you were talking about is...?", Alex says. 

"I need you to attend the wedding as my friends from work."

"Which fairy tale did you tell him about us?", Max covers his face with his hands, predicting the disaster of answer he will receive. 

"Supposedly...", Charles pushes his glasses from the tip of his nose, "We are designers." 

Max blinks three times. He should have seen this coming. Charles is pretty obsessed with fashion trends and fancy clothes. His fashion sense is no joke. The Dutchman admires Charles for arduous battle to dethrone Sebastian, the King of Fashion. 

"It's not that bad if you ignore the fact: we aren't designers."

"Which kind of designers?"

Lando asks, raising up his hand. Max glares at him, while Alex chuckles. 

"What? I want to know!" 

"Fashion designers." 

"You have got to be fucking kidding me."

Even having knowledge of the reply previously, Max can't help regulating his own words. 

_There was no way he would waste the opportunity to see his younger brother shining._

_Or, that was what he thought before the Hong Kong's mission._

_The entire operation became a mess in the very start when the HK's government promised Sebastian total autonomy in their territory for 48 hours, but the former statement was withdrawn before their arrival. Charles remembered Max's face when they were told that they couldn't use fire guns during the mission. The Dutchman almost killed the government agent with his own bare hands._

_God bless Alex who always managed to calm Max down._

_Charles was also angry, however he didn't let it show because it was a dangerous mission, especially for him, the person who would play a character and act like a negotiator inside the enemy's territory._

_At the end, the impositions didn't matter because, in all modesty, their team was at the best form, working in total synchrony. It was also the first time he saw Max angry - not the common angry or on a bad mode, but angry angry. Alex was the real MVP covering his and Max's exposed spots while nobody was watching._

_Arresting bad guys took too long, and Charles was freaking out because Arthur's race would start in less than 13 hours - it was the time he had to return to Europe and arrive at the GP._

_At the airport, Charles just ran towards the exit, leaving back his own luggage._

_(He was sure that Alex would never just leave his stuff there, maybe Max, but not Alex, he was too kind)._

_Getting a cab was a tough mission than Charles had thought because, apparently, everybody had the same idea as him. Unluckily, he got stuck in a traffic jam in the middle of the way to the GP._

_Checking his current location in his phone's GPS, the Monegasque concluded that he would arrive in less minutes if he just leaves the cab and runs. So, he did it: ran fast as he could, his phone on hand and his paddock pass inside his jeans' pocket._

_When he finally arrived, there wasn't a thing he wished more than to take a bath and change his sweaty clothes._

_(Maybe Arthur taking a podium, that would be great too.)_

_Using his VIP pass, Charles entered the paddock and searched for his family. The problem was that he didn't have any clue where they were, and his battery had just run out because lucky wasn't by his side._

_Charles took off his pair of glasses to clean the lens. He didn't even know why he had chosen the glasses instead of his usual contact lens. Besides that, wearing jeans, sweatshirt and simple converses wasn't his first choice. It made him look a lot like Max and not himself. Being sweat and dehydrated didn't make it any better._

_Because of his loud and messy thoughts, Charles didn't notice when he bumped into someone._

_"Oh, I'm sorry."_

_"No, it was my fault."_

_Charles was still busying with the lens' cleaning while he exchanged apologizes with the person in front of him. He could tell the person was looking at him because they didn't start walking again._

_"Charles? Is that you?"_

_You couldn't blame Charles for not recognizing the person in front of him without wearing his glasses. Aside the blue eyes and the kind smile, Pierre had changed a lot since the last time they managed to see each other._

_Charles probably looked stupid, paralyzed, while Pierre stared at him like he couldn't trust his own eyes with that star-struck look he used to have since they were children._

_"Do you remember me?", Charles knitted his eyebrows, not sure of the answer he would receive._

_"Of course!", Pierre smiled, "You are my best friend. Wait, we still best friends, right?"_

_Charles nodded, giggling. Being happy and sweet was so Pierre._

_"What are you doing here?", Pierre bumped their shoulders together, "I haven't seen or heard of you for ages."_

_"I came to see Arthur.", he readjusted the glasses over his nose, "Big brother's duty."_

_"Is it Arthur's debut, isn't?", the Frenchman face-palmed himself, realizing the facts, "And let me guess: you are lost."_

_"I'm not since you are going to help me now.", Charles shrugged, innocently._

_"Should I?"_

_"You have to."_

_"I will.", Pierre nodded, "If you agree to meet up later because I'm sure you have a lot to talk about. Or complain like always."_

_"I didn't complain."_

_"You did. Like 'Why can't you just be my neighbor?', 'I don't want to wait until next month.'"_

_"I was ten!", Charles cried out, but could not contain his laugh, "Okay, I complained a lot. Now, help me find my family."_

_Pierre just laughed and led the way, making sure Charles would arrive on time to see the very start of the race._

_At the end, Arthur didn't grab a podium, so didn't Pierre in his category. However, his brother seemed pretty happy with his 6th place, and Pierre got some points too._

_Their meeting later quickly led to two, three, ten more._

_(They started dating)._

"Charlie, you have to tell him the truth.", Alex comments, receiving a nod from Lando, "He deserves it." 

"I know it!", Charles sinks in the couch, closing his eyes, "But I can't. Every single time I was going to tell him, something happened. I can't tell him now when he is in the middle of the season."

_Charles should have learned from his past actions: do not make promises you can't keep._

_But it was hard to say 'no' when Pierre was the one who had asked him._

_Thinking about the entire situation, it could be worse, like other times when he was stuck on a mission in Australia and had to be at the race in Mexico on the same day._

_That time, Charles was grateful it had to be Rio de Janeiro and not any other city around the globe._

_Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo were less than 500km apart each other, what meant that Charles could just take a 60-minutes flight to see Pierre's race._

_That was his plan until the mission delayed._

_Of course, something would happen. Charles should know at this point that plans never worked the way he wanted them to._

_Max having a big ego might have a thing to do with this._

_Charles having a competitive instinct might have a thing to do with this too._

_(God blessed Alex with a well-balanced behavior and an endless patience just to keep those two in the line)._

_Since the start of the mission Charles was in bad mood. That was because Max stole the character from him right after Sebastian found out that Max was the best Portuguese speaker among them._

_Charles hadn't aced every single language test in the agency for that. There was no way Max was better than him in conversation. As if._

_There wasn't a thing he wanted more than to shoot the guy Max was talking too. That would end the annoying mission, and he could finally watch the race in peace._

_Yes, Charles knew that he couldn't just shoot people, even if they were totally bad, because it might compromise the mission - besides that, Sebastian would probably kill him for being stupid._

_Maybe Charles would rather die than watch Max smirk to the woman in black dress - the wife of the man they had to arrest for corruption and money laundering, if you wonder._

_It was Max's first time since the failure-but-success in Monaco. Charles couldn't understand why Sebastian would trust Max to get the information out of this corrupted ex-politician._

_Max was good with guns. Charles was good with lies._

_Alex said they should just meditate._

_But Charles knew that Max was holding the mission up for his own benefit to see the Monegasque going crazy._

_He became certain of his thoughts when the Dutchman whispered in his hidden earphone: "You better be learning how to do this right.". After hearing that, Charles almost left his spot to punch his colleague in the face, however his Thai partner saved him before he could do anything stupid._

_Alex was good at being an angel._

_Collecting all the evidence they need took more time than the expected, so Charles had to run to the airport without his luggage. Again._

_Sebastian was the only one that knew about his relationship. He couldn't blame his boss for being smart and perceptive. There was no reason to lie to Sebastian when he had found out just checking on Charles' registers._

_He felt a bit lucky that Sebastian only told him to be careful about his relationship and about the exposition he would face dating a famous person._

_But Charles hadn't told Sebastian that Pierre didn't know he was a spy._

_It wasn't like he hadn't tried telling Pierre. He just couldn't tell him. He didn't know how to._

_Charles had planned telling him the truth that day, after the Interlagos GP, when they could talk privately. Even if he was scared and anxious about the reaction he would receive._

_That was the main plan before the end of the race._

_Seeing Pierre step in the highest step of the podium changed everything Charles was feeling inside. He felt warm. He was crying and clapping and shouting at the same time. His glasses were wet, his voice was disappearing and his hands were red from clapping too much._

_Don't blame him. It felt like one of the best days of his life. He was proud and happy because he was the only one who knew how much his best friend - and boyfriend - worked to archive his goal. It was his moment._

_And Charles couldn't steal it from him. He never would dare._

_(Later that day, Pierre just burst out a marriage proposal, and Charles didn't dare to say no)._

"So what?", Max interrupts, arms crossed, "Are you going to tell him when you become old and ugly?" 

"Well, that's technically impossible because I will always be handsome."

Charles says, grinning, because he is overconfident about his looks. He is aware of the person he became in those years working as a spy. Field missions helped a lot to build the role of faultless he wears every day. 

But that isn't the day to look perfect. 

The three spies turn to take a look at the Monegasque, who feels exposed to the act. 

Maybe he came to Max's apartment straight from a date with his fiancé without changing his clothes before. That's why he feels so uncomfortable wearing simple clothes as jeans, converse shoes, flannel shirt and mismatched socks. Charles doesn't even need to hide behind that pair of glasses anymore but he still does. Let's not forget his messy and wet hair. 

"Okay, okay.", he throws his hands in the air, giving up, "I may not look my best at the moment, but still."

Alex ignores the last comment and just skips for the most important part:

"When are you planning to tell him?"

"He has a race this weekend, so it's ruled out.", Charles gesticulates and starts to mumble nonstop, "And can't tell him in August too because it's when the Championship starts to get intense. December is controversial: if he wins the Championship, I want him to celebrate; if he loses, I don't want to stress him anymore."

At the end, the ex-teammate has his face covered by his own hands, groaning. 

"In summary, you will run away from the truth.", Max's voice breaks his moment of regret. 

"It's a good idea since I don't even know how to tell this.", he replies without moving from his previous position. 

"Just say it before the wedding.", the Dutchman tries to consider the options, "The ceremony will be in the summer, right? So, there will be no race for, what? Two, three weeks. It should be more than enough to undo this lie." 

"I don't know if I can do it..."

"Okay, listen here.", it is evident in Max's voice he is starting to lose his composure because Charles is playing the drama queen, "You better man up if you don't want me to do you the favor and tell him myself during your wedding." 

"You wouldn't.", Charles' eyes widen. 

"You know I would."

"Ah, fine!", Charles groans, putting his hands on his lap, "I will do it." 

"Good.", Max smirks, patting his friend's head, as a joke, "Now, just grab a controller and play with us. I need to beat you up at this too." 

"In your dreams.", Charles laughs out loud, "I will defeat you."

"Albon, you better not escape to do your yoga thing.", Max points at his best friend's direction, his eyes stare at the TV's screen while setting up the game. 

"It will be impossible to have peace when you two will be shouting at each other."

Alex shakes his head because he knows what is coming - and his pacify skills will be needed. 

"Ah, I almost forgot."

Max stands up again, stopping beside Lando, who stayed in silence during almost all of the conversation - what is strange because, normally, the British talks whenever he is given the opportunity to do. 

"Monaco's Prince, this is Lando, our rookie who went to MIT.", the Dutchman looks at Charles, introducing his new partner, "Nerd Lord, this is Charles, the one who is a liar and is great at undercover."

They exchange greeting, smiling kindly. 

"Nice to meet you, mate."

"Same!", Lando says, "So you are the famous Charles from the stories about the Monaco's mission."

"The one and only."

Charles's eyebrows knit, searching for Alex's help, since he doesn't know what supposed to say about that information. The Thai is busy looking at his own phone screen, typing, and gives him no response. 

"Great, because there were some loose strings I want to ask you about since Max doesn't tell me."

"Lando, shut up!"


	2. La Vie en Rose

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It’s me again /insert “it’s been 84 years” gif here.
> 
> Bleue = blue 
> 
> Rose = pink
> 
> “ _La vie en rose_ ” means " _Life in pink_ ", or life seen through happy lenses.
> 
> “ _Bleue_ ” symbolizes trust, loyalty, wisdom, confidence, intelligence, faith, truth. 
> 
> I can’t write romance to save my life.
> 
> Please, enjoy.

**Paris, France. 1:49 AM. Two weeks away from the wedding day.**

Two months passed since Charles went to Zandvoort seeking Max's and Alex's help. In middle of it, he also met Lando, the person who was put in his place to complete the squad. The four of them spent the night playing games and gossiping about people who worked at the agency.

Charles really misses them. 

Undoubtedly, the spy considers Alex and Max his closest friends – Lando is cool too, he decides. It isn't like Charles doesn't want to have friends. 

The Monegasque is so done to have to pretend every time he meets a new person. Surely, his job requires him to pretend, and he loves to be a spy because he knows he is actually good at it. 

Charles likes to wear fancy clothes created by famous designers, being invited to most prestigious events in the world, smiling and flirting with his target until they let slip the information he needs. Charles likes to drive fast and expensive cars.

But, sometimes, things are so tiring. 

He swears watching races, laughs out loud of unfunny jokes, plays video games until the sun rises and goes to shopping and spends his salary with peculiar clothes – like the banana costume he bought and has still never worn.

_That_ Charles is hardly seen because he can't just be that person every time he wants. He hides himself behind different characters – each one for a determined occasion. He just follows the script. 

The previous weeks made Charles realize that he is about to get married. It hit him hard while he got his hands on the official wedding invitation for the first time. 

The invitations were sent to the guests on the previous day, what resulted in a sudden wave of new messages in his phone; mostly were from his or Pierre's family congratulating both of them. 

Charles didn't want to invite many people to the said event. It is supposed to be a private ceremony. The entire wedding would grab a lot of unwanted attention from the media, what is terrible for the kind of industry he works at. 

But Charles just follows his script and let Pierre think that was because he is a shy and secretive person. _As if._

Their relationship is still a secret to the world. Charles is always alert to the cameras, journalists and fans when they see each other. Time to time, Pierre mentions his "best friend" during interviews and the Frenchman also posts a few photos of them together, but it seems that nobody ever questioned their real relationship status, and Charles can't be more glad. 

Meanwhile, Max keeps sending him threat messages every day. The Dutchman wants to make sure Charles is going to tell Pierre the truth about his job – and, if he doesn't, Max will be grateful to expose the lies himself. 

That's why Charles has been avoiding seeing Pierre in person. 

Of course, they talk through the phone and facetime each other whenever they can, even if it's not the same as having a conversation face to face. 

But face to face is exactly what Charles is avoiding. 

He knows when they see each other for the first time in a while he won't be able to lie, and there isn't a thing Charles is most afraid of than judgments that will come from his own fiancé.

Even when his fiancé is the nicest and most comprehensive person alive. 

Pierre is not the person is worried about. 

Charles can't just pretend he did the right choice by not telling his best friend, who is also the person he is going to marry, about his job. 

For a first, Charles is glad he didn't go to Canada's GP, what is strange since the Monegasque is always up for a GP, wherever it has been hold.

It doesn't matter Arthur is going to be upset with Charles for days. He is the one who watched and cheered up for his little brother in almost all of his races. As siblings, Arthur should understand his insurances more than anyone. 

Charles isn't ready to face the consequences of his actions, so he stares at the white ceiling of his bedroom, unable to close his eyes, as if it will gift him an answer to his problems. 

But Charles doesn't need to be a genius to know that he does already own the only answer he needs. 

\---💙---

**Paris, France. 8:23 PM. The day before the wedding.**

At the exact moment, Charles sees himself walking side to side inside his apartment. 

Even through it hurts himself on heart, the Monegasque is glad that he convinced his fiancé to not come to his place because of bad luck’s story towards see each other before the wedding. 

He had always thought that it was just a stupid superstition, but, that day, he was grateful for the person who created that tradition, so he could use it in his own benefit. 

Charles knows he shouldn't be shocked every time he tells Pierre a lie, and his fiancé just trusts him with closed eyes without a doubt, because it has happened with a lot of frequency. 

He feels ashamed of himself to lie and pretend while the man he loves is being the sweetest person in the world and giving him his entire heart to hold. 

Charles should probably distract himself to think about other stuff than his bad life choices. 

Staring at himself in the mirror, the spy concludes he looks terrible: dark circles under his eyes – eyes that are also red because of his lack of sleep –, mismatched socks, old cartoon shirt and black bandana in head that makes his hair looks messier than it already is. 

Charles grabs his phone to check his messages for the nth time that night. However, it isn't like he is in mood for replying any of them. 

Days after the first and last time the Monegasque had met Lando, the British managed to find out his personal cell phone number and added him to a group chat among himself, Max and Alex. What else he could expect from a person who went to MIT? Charles likes to exchange memes with people who have peculiar sense of humor. 

During one of those texting sessions, Charles found out that Alex is bringing his ‘not-boyfriend-just-friend’ as his plus one to the weeding. He can't lie that he was a little apprehensive at first but after learning that the Thai had even told that friend about the "Monaco's disaster" – Max hates that name, so Charles keeps using it – he quickly changed his mind. If Alex trusted someone aside Max to the point of telling them that story, Charles must be happy for him. 

Later, Lando asked Max to be his plus one in the group chat even when the Dutch spy has been invited to the wedding too – not that British cares. Max decides to accept the invitation because he knows it's no use to argue with his colleague.

Thinking of his old squad, Charles would be glad – and very surprised – if his former boss just shows up with his own husband. 

Sebastian was the person who stayed by his side after his father's and godfather's deaths. He did always listen to his problems, letting Charles cry all he wanted to on his shoulder when bad times arrived. Seb also guided him through unexpected situations and helped him with his impudent lies, even if he and his incorruptible demeanor fought against Charles' plans. 

Sebastian acts a lot like a fraternal figure to Charles. 

Aside them, his brothers, mother, uncles and aunts will be there too. 

He doesn't know if Pierre invited someone from his team or the paddock. 

(Probably not, since Charles was very persuasive in his 'not grab attention from the media' talk). 

Making a count on the guests leads Charles to think about his new team in Paris. He is relieved that his three new colleagues are pretty cool and receptive – and do way better than he expected during missions; a high skilled group of spies, even if they have singular tastes for hobbies.

Esteban would certainly spend the entire wedding's evening with eyes glued on phone or eating something sweet. There is nothing to worry about him besides the slices of cake he would steal.

Nico would more like to go alone and have polite conversations just when he is being requested to. Charles trusts Hulk enough to know the German would never talk more than he should.

On the other hand, there is Daniel, who must just be the most sociable person in the entire world without effort. The Aussie is the only one of Charles' colleagues that Pierre accidentally met – not that the Monegasque is proud of it; Daniel likes to put a finger on subjects that aren't his. Charles wouldn't be surprised if he shows up in fancy clothes and steals the spotlight of the wedding. 

Charles should try to sleep because he hasn't had a good night of sleep for weeks. 

Since the last mission ended, he barely had time to think about his own wedding, but it doesn't mean that he forgot the lies he has been telling his fiancé. It's impossible to forget them.

The Monegasque wants to call somebody and throw all insurances out himself. He knows he can't call anyone. 

Max would shout at him for being stupid, Alex would suggest meditation, Lando would answer him using memes.

Esteban would not even pick up his call because he is on his day-off, Hulk would listen silently and quote an antecedent German proverb at the end, Daniel would be able to make him laugh even when it's a do or die situation. 

Lorenzo would give him a lecture about his entire life experience, Arthur would drive to his brother's apartment to throw Charles out of window for overthinking and being dramatic again. 

Sebastian doesn't deserve being called on his day-off at his grange in Switzerland to hear Charles' cries and regrets because he had done too much for the said boy before. 

Out of options, Charles ends up staring at the white ceiling of his bedroom again. 

\---💗---

**Monaco. 2:29 PM. Wedding day.**

Charles is about to have a breakdown. 

His hands were trembling as he tried to tie the bow tie. 

He should have told Pierre. 

His hair combed with gel felt even more wet because of his sweat. 

He is grateful that he managed to kick his family out of the room for a minute. 

Charles needs to breathe. 

He undoes the bow while glances at the pair of glasses over the large white table. He doesn't even know why he still hides himself behind the same pair of glasses he wore in his 19's. 

Pierre likes his glasses. 

Pierre likes _him_ , of all people. 

This is not fair. 

Charles shouldn't be able to wear that expensive suit which was designed exclusively for him by no other than Lewis, the person he told Pierre he works for since he lied about being a fashion designer. 

(Thank God, Lewis and Seb are, somehow, pretty close, what provided good excuses for Charles). 

He is damned. Even devil must feel ashamed of him.

He does not deserve a thing of what life has given him. 

He has to tell Pierre. 

_"It's now or never."_

The Monegasque exits the room and crosses the hall, looking for Pierre's room. On his tiptoes, Charles is cautious to not be caught by any member of his family while he sneaks out of the dressing room.

Finding the place that he is searching, Charles stops in front of the door and takes a deep breathe.

Knocking on the door, he doesn't wait for the answer, just pushes it abruptly.

Charles has the feeling if he waited any second longer, the courage boiling inside his body would cease.

"I need to talk to you!"

Grabbing on the door handle, the spy shouts fast with closed eyes, in one breath. Then, Charles opens his eyes and stares at the room interior.

At the other side of the room, Pierre is busy typing on his phone. He is caught in surprise when his fiancé's voice interrupts his actions.

The Frenchman turns towards the door with widen eyes, quickly covering them with his free hand.

"Charlie? What are you doing here?", he says, taking careful steps in his best friend's direction, "We are not supposed to see each other yet, did you forget?"

"No, I didn't.", Charles replies, locking the door behind himself, "But I'm allowing you to open your eyes."

Pierre stops on his path, not moving his hand from his eyes.

"Are you trying to test me?", the French driver smiles, "Because I won't fall into your trap."

Charles shakes his head in disbelief, preventing the corners of his lips to rise at the sight of his soon-to-be husband standing in the middle of the dressing room with covered eyes.

"No.", he sighs, "I really need to tell you something."

"Can't it wait until-."

"No, it can't wait.", Charles interrupts, moving from his previous position next the door and stopping in front of his lover, "Please, look at me."

"Charles, are you sure-."

"Just look at me.", the spy removes his fiancé's hand from his eyes and holds them, " _Please_."

Pierre seems happy to oblige. Why would he deny a request to see his charming fiancé? As the said driver opens his eyes, he blinks three times to adjust his eyes to pinkish light in the room. Then, he takes a look at the person in front of him, checking his best friend out.

"You look handsome.", he whistles, blinking three times again, star-struck look on face, "As always."

"No, I don't."

"Yes, you do."

Charles doesn't feel handsome. He feels stupid after have coming to the room to tell the truth about the fake relationship he has been cultivating all these years.

The agent feels Pierre's fingers touching his right cheek, so he lifts his gaze from the wooden floor he stared at for a minute without noticing, too deep in his own thoughts.

"What happened?", the Frenchman asks, because he can sense something is wrong with Charles, "Are you fine?"

"Yes. No? I don't know anymore.", Charles removes Pierre's hand from his cheek, carefully, "Just listen to me, okay?", he entwines their fingers together, staring at the blue eyes of his lover, "You can talk after I have finished, but you must wait until the end.”, he takes a breath before resuming his speech with a whisper, “And, please, don't be angry at point of ruin our ceremony."

"What?”, Pierre squeezes his hand, “Why would I be angry?"

"Do you promise to listen until the end?", Charles repeats, an expecting look on his eyes.

"Charles, _ma vie_ , you are scaring me."

"Just promise me, please."

"Okay, I promise. Now, mind you to tell me what is wrong."

_"You can do it. You can do it. You can do it."_

"Pierre, I'm-.", Charles stops and coughs, trying to undone the knot on his throat, "How do I explain this? Why is so hard?", he says the last phrases with closed eyes, "Pierre, I'm a-."

"You are a spy. That's what you want to say, right?"

Then, the time stops for a second before Charles can understand what he heard.

"I'm a spy?”, he tries to catch his breath, “I'm a spy! Where did you get this idea from?"

"I just know you are."

"What?”, the agent asks, “It should be you the one who is confused not me!"

"It's your job.”, Pierre takes Charles’ hands in his, “I'm a driver and you are a spy. Seems pretty simple for me."

"No, it's not.”, the Monegasque shoves his fiancé’s hands off, because now he is confused, “And why aren't you mad at me?"

"Why should I?”, the Frenchman seeks for Charles’s fingers again, “Did you do something wrong?"

"Pierre, _chérie_ , I have just told our relationship is based on lies.”, Charles breathes and keeps his eyes on the floor, afraid to look up, “You should have been shouting at me right now."

"What?", he hears Pierre’s laugh, "I would _never_ do that."

"I lied to you and you are laughing?", he raises his gaze and frowns, “What is so funny? I want to laugh too, because I feel my heart is going to explode at any moment.”

"Charlie, calm down. You are being overdramatic."

"You better explain."

Charles demands like he isn’t the one who should be solving up the mysteries he created himself.

_At first, Pierre hadn't noticed a thing._

_Dating Charles was so easy. It felt right._

_Although, his best friend changed a bit since the last time they had seen each other, it was the same Charles those eyes sparkled when he talked about his likes and hobbies; the one who didn't forget to attend to any of Arthur's races; the one who cared about the people around him firstly before worrying about himself; the one who always encouraged Pierre to chase his dreams and was proud of his achievements._

_It was fine if Charles became a little clumsy or shy meanwhile the time they were apart. Pierre didn't mind the view of his boyfriend looking like he almost got caught in a tornado, with mismatched socks, sore jeans, oversized coat, untidy hair and the pair of glasses._

_Pierre didn't care about what he wore because he knew Charles would look handsome in any clothes._

_(Aside that, he really liked the glasses)._

_Charles was Charles: funny, loyal and smart. Since his childhood, he liked to draw and to write – even when he was a little secretive about letting Pierre take a look at his papers that time._

_They used to talk through the phone every day. Because of their respective jobs, it was hard to find time to see each other. Charles was usually late for their daily facetime, but that didn't bother Pierre; he was more than grateful to wait for his best friend._

_Pierre was used to Charles to get lost around the paddock, run out of battery all the time and avoid the spotlight every race weekend._

_But he knew that the Monagasque would come anyway. It was enough to make his heart relieved._

_They both traveled a lot around the world. Pierre was a racer. Charles worked for a high-level fashion designer. It was fine to be apart, they learned how to deal with the distance pretty good._

_Distance had made both of them realized that they needed to appreciate more the time they spent together._

_Distance and time made their relationship strong._

_Even so, there were a few things that Pierre couldn't understand._

+

_The first of them was why Charles didn't want to get a driver license._

_Aside the plausible answer coming from Charles – "I travel a lot. I don't need a car for myself." –, he didn't shallow the entire idea because Charles used to be the fast among the kids back then in karting._

_That led his thoughts to previous GP in Monza._

_The night that followed the qualifiers was difficult. Pierre felt out of breath because of the disaster that happened on the track. He wanted to talk to Charles, but the latter wasn't picking up his call._

_Pierre understood that Charles must have been busy, so he opted to take a run around the city, being careful to not go far from the hotel he was staying at._

_He needed fresh air. He needed to relax. He needed to get tired until he could forget about that terrible qualifier._

_(Normally, Charles was the one who helped him get through it)._

_It was almost midnight when he saw it._

_Someone stepped out of a red Ferrari that was parked in front of an antecedent dwelling. The person was dressed with the most expensive all-black suit that Pierre has laid his eyes on. The suit was ornate with little spots of light while the shoes were made of high-quality polished leather. The person also wore a pair of black glasses from Ray-Ban brand, even when it still dark outside. The newest Rolex watch was placed on their wrist._

_The figure was quite familiar for the driver, although Pierre was just watching the scene across the street._

_Pierre didn't believe his own eyes, when the person took off their fancy glasses._

_That couldn't be Charles, his Charles._

_That made absolutely no sense. Charles was stuck in London working. Charles didn't have a drive license. Charles didn’t wear fancy clothes. Charles didn’t like stealing attention._

_However, the person on the other side of the street looked a lot like Charles, besides that one was sharing words with unknown people and emanating over-confidence._

_His mind was playing a prank on him. He just missed his boyfriend too much and wished he could be there, supporting him._

_Turning around, Pierre just decided to go back to hotel and try to sleep._

_(Key word: try, because the driver couldn’t shut his eyes until the morning came. He prayed to not crash on the first lap)._

_In the following day, his boyfriend showed up unexpectedly to watch the race, forcing him to wash all doubt thoughts from his mind._

_(On Monday, newspaper spread the news about some arrest of a gang which had been involved with illegal gambling and millionaire bets for years)._

+

_The next time Charles didn't fail to make Pierre confused they were alone._

_Since they started to date, months ago, it was hard to coincide their busy schedules. Aside the race weekends, they only saw each other when both of them were in either Italy or Monaco._

_Most of their encounters consisted in staying inside their apartments complaining about their co-workers, watching movies and cooking together. Because of that, it took time for Pierre to get used to Charles' sleep habits._

_Pierre didn’t mind Charles stealing the entire blanket for himself or taking the most space on the bed – almost pushing him over the bed._

_And there was other habit: talking during the sleep._

_Once the talk didn't startle him anymore, he started to think it was pretty cute to see the other making faces and mumbling nonsense. Charles complained a lot about someone named Max, who Pierre leaned that was his colleague from work._

_They have been sleeping together for a long time to Pierre know that Charles usually talked during his sleep in English or French, sometimes in Italian too because the Monegasque had told him he started to learn the language, but never in German._

_Charles didn't know how to speak German._

_That was exactly what he told Pierre after arriving late for Germany GP because he struggled to get a grip on the paddock pass that Pierre had secured him._

_Charles couldn't read or talk in German, so, naturally, he got lost, what resulted in arriving late for the race._

_It didn't matter to Pierre because Charles still made it at the end, one way or another. Charles always found a way to be there for him – and Arthur, of course._

_(One night, Pierre recorded the “German sleep-talking” and sent the audio to a translator. ‘Diamond’, ‘ball’, ‘thief’, ‘pink’, ‘bomb’ and ‘escape’ weren't exactly the words he expected for, but they were all he got)._

+

_Pierre never imagined that Charles’ glasses could be something to doubt about._

_Pierre had always loved to see Charles wearing glasses, since the ‘day one’ when they reunited again after some years. The driver still remembered the shocked look on the Monegasque’s face soon as he put on the pair of glasses that he was cleaning and recognized the person in front of him._

_He liked when his boyfriend got excited and talked non-stop about some book he read previously. Glasses didn’t only help him look smart, but also cute._

_(Who was he trying to trick? Pierre just loved Charles in anything, anytime and anywhere)._

_That was why it was strange to see the pair of glasses over the white table when Pierre entered Charles' apartment using the spare key he was given._

_It became double strange when he checked, but the apartment’s owner was nowhere to be seen._

_Charles could look like a mess sometimes, however he spent a lot of time tidying up his things. Pierre knew he wouldn’t forget to bring his glasses anywhere, for an example._

_The driver wanted to surprise his boyfriend showing up at the doorstep. He knew they weren’t seeing each other frequently because of their respective jobs, so he took the cue to enjoy the day-off it was gifted him with his favorite person._

_Minutes before arriving, he did casually text Charles, who said he was at home. There was no reason for the Monegasque to have lied._

_Pierre just washed those doubtful thoughts of his mind and started to look inside the apartment. Charles left papers spread in the couch, and the Frenchman grabbed them to take a peek. There were some sketches that, usually, Charles wouldn’t let him see because he didn’t feel confident enough._

_In Pierre’s opinion, those sketches looked good, and he was not saying it because they were made by his boyfriend._

_In the middle of those papers, one of them stole his attention because it wasn’t about drawing and writing – Charles owed a pretty cursive calligraphy, who Pierre is a totally stan._

_Quickly, Pierre googled the name written in the corner of the paper. The results came fast: the paper had the logo of some famous eye clinic. Taking a look at the topic of the said paper, he understood it was prescription, with numbered rules to follow._

_Hearing the sound of the key being closed, he left the papers where they were found and waited to be seen in the living room._

_Noticing the guest, Charles just dropped the bags he was carrying on the floor and attacked him with a warm hug._

_(The way Charles’ eyes lighted up made him forget instantly to ask why he wasn’t wearing glasses)._

+

_Coming up next, there was the “piano syndrome”._

_Pierre knew_ _Charles could play piano and that he started taking classes when he was still in kindergarten._

_One time, after a good kart race, Charles complained to his best friend that he was really bad at piano, but his teacher just encouraged him to keep practicing. The Monegasque said that his teacher had assured him practice would make him play piano better. However, Charles was tired to work on developing his non-existence skills, playing and seeing no growth at all._

_Of course, his teacher was right. Pierre never doubted it, because he knew his best friend was a perfectionist._

_Charles could ace everything he took a like to. He just needed enough time and encouragement to make it happen. That didn’t work different for piano._

_Some months later, the complains stopped, and Pierre was more than sure that Charles had started enjoying his piano classes, but kept that information for himself._

_Typical Charles: he would keep a secret until he felt confidence to share his refined skills with someone – even if it that person was his best friend who would never judge him._

_However, Pierre never had a problem waiting for anything related to Charles and would never pressure the person he liked the most._

_Quickly, the Frenchman noticed that Charles acquired a peculiar habit to let his fingers sway and find a melody over every plane surface his hands touched. It meant that sat at table for dinner or waiting on a line, he would start tapping his fingers to practice some new song he learned._

_Playing piano was more than a hobby for Charles, he could feel it. When Pierre told the Monegasque should even pursuance playing it professionally, the said one laughed and replied he was being too much biased._

_“I’m not that good.”, it was what Charles had said, but, for Pierre, he was perfect._

_Even though they have spent years apart each other, the Frenchman watched his childhood friend’s actions close just to confirm his old habits still the same, but recognized there were some new habits he couldn’t understand._

_Like the day Charles was practicing ‘La vie en Rose’ over the restaurant’s table again – Pierre memorized some parts of the song because it was his boyfriend’s favorite song to play. Without warning, however, the refresh touch on the wood was replaced by some precise sounds and irregular beats._

_In a moment, the Frenchman’s brain noticed the beat wasn’t from a new song he didn’t listen before, but the Morse Code. He watched historical movies; he knew how Morse Code worked but never learned properly. So, why his sweet fashionista beautiful boyfriend would tap that code on the restaurant’s table?_

_Pierre didn’t dare to question Charles when he looked so peaceful gazing out the window without carrying about the world around himself._

_(Later, his boyfriend mentioned that he was learning how to play ‘Bad Guy’ on piano, and Pierre was definitely up to appreciate the performance)._

_+_

_The last one was the business trips._

_Pierre knew that Charles’ job required him to travel a lot, because his job also needed him to be at different places around the world._

_But that didn’t mean that he actually understood how Charles had been made it work for years._

_His schedules were messy. Charles could be called in the midnight. Charles did rarely stay until the end of family’s celebrations. Charles didn’t arrive on time and left before anyone else. Charles called and answered Pierre on the craziest times of the day or night._

_None of that explained the fact that Charles managed to go and cheer for Arthur in all of his races despites his inconsistent routine._

_It didn’t matter if the race would happen in Australia, Spain or Mexico. He would make it in time – sometimes, just a little late._

_More than one, Pierre caught himself thinking about Charles’ job: his boyfriend_ _has been working for one of the most prestigious designers of this century and, even if his boss was a the coolest person in the world and gave him the day-off to go to Arthur’s races, there was no way he could take a plane or a train and arrive just on time. Weather and bureaucracy were two of few things that the Monegasque couldn’t control._

_The race in Brazil meant the end of season was coming and he still had to grab a win to prove himself._

_After the best race he had been in his life, his first podium and the celebration with the team, all Pierre wanted to do was hug Charles and cry on his shoulder. His effort and sacrifice were finally rewarded._

_In the end, the Frenchman did get his deserved hug, but a short version of it since he had a team meeting in few minutes._

_Bidding him goodbye, Charles left saying he should take a look on Arthur._

_Seconds later, Pierre noticed some paper had fallen from his boyfriend jacket’s pocket. He quickly tried to call after him, but it didn’t work. Without an option, he picked the paper from the floor himself._

_Maybe he shouldn’t have open it, however his eyes read the information from the back side of the sheet._

_It was Charles’ airfare._

_From Rio de Janeiro to São Paulo._

_It didn’t make sense for him since the Monegasque had said he was coming from New York. Pierre knew little about Brazil, but he knew that mostly of international fights used to arrive in São Paulo._

_Pierre caught himself thinking about the ticket until the evening, when they agreed to meet up. However, instead of asking for some clarification, Pierre just came up with the worst propose ever._

_(He was lucky that his boyfriend loved him too much to reject him. The tiny paper was left forgotten inside his pants’ pocket)._

+

_The fact was that Charles had always been a persuasive person at all, since he was a child._

_He did always get what he wanted because he knew how to express himself and touch people’s feelings, switching the scenario on his favor quickly._

_But Pierre never doubted him. Pierre trusted him with all his heart. There was no reason for lie, there was?_

_His mind must have been tricking him. Of course, Charles would never lie to him._

_His funny, loyal and smart fiancé who liked to draw, to write and to play piano._

_His best friend who wore glasses, mismatched Converses and oversize sweaters. The person who stayed by his side since the beginning, saw his dreams come true and gave him strength to keep pushing._

_That was his Charles. The Charles he knew since they were only children._

_Yet, Pierre felt like there was some other side of himself that Charles has been used to hide._

_But Pierre was fine with that. He should wait and let Charles trust him._

_Because their love was, is strong then any lie they have told._

The ending of Pierre’s story left Charles speechless. He let his guard down more than once and was reckless with his job. Never did he think Pierre would suspect a thing about those events.

Maybe Pierre is pretty perceptive, and Charles is not the best liar world has known.

"So, was that how you find out the truth?"

"Not really. It took weeks to convince myself that my mind wasn’t tricking me.", Pierre shakes his head, “It was hard to think you could lie to me.”

"Why didn't you say a thing before?", Charles sighs because his heart hurts to hear that his best friend is disappointed.

"I thought it was a secret. You know, nobody could discover your true identity, then I start playing along. But I have to tell you that I'm glad you have just come out with this conversation. Keep secrets is hard than I thought."

"Oh God, I was struggling to tell you when you knew everything!”. Charles hides his face with his hands without caring about the makeup for the wedding, “I feel relieved, but it's also frustrating."

"I'm sorry.”, the driver squeezes his shoulder in a soft gesture, “I was hoping to be told by you when you were allowed to or felt ready to."

"I don’t deserve you.”, Charles looks up and stares at the deep blue eyes he likes too much.

“I don’t deserve you.”, the Frenchman replies, “You are amazing.”

“I could kiss you right now.", the Monegasque can’t suppress his smile.

"I would really like that."

Before Pierre could really kiss his adorable liar fiancé, Charles just left his seat on the bench and started to walk side to side in the room.

"First, I have to check again.”, he says, “You are not mad?"

"Not a bit."

"Or feel betrayed?"

"No.”, the Frenchman shakes his head.

"Or don't want to marry me?", Charles bites on his lower lip.

"Of course, I still want to marry you.”, Pierre stands up from his position and hugs him, “Now, where is the kiss you promise me?"

“I can’t kiss you right now when you look _perfectly_ fine and ready to get married while I’m sweaty because I was too scared to tell you that I’m a liar.”

Charles’ brain cells start to work a mile per hour again. Noticing that behavior, Pierre draws his attention again.

“Charlie, _ma vie_. You look perfectly fine for me.”, the Frenchman says, resting his hand on his fiancé’s cheek, “I couldn’t ask for anyone else to love and love me.”

“You are making me feel really bad about not telling you before.”, the spy says, a little ashamed of his life choices, but happy with the way the conversation has gone.

"Just forget it. You did nothing wrong.”, Pierre assures him, smiling, “You should go now. The ceremony will start in minutes.”

Charles doesn’t move. However, his eyes go to the floor again.

"So...”, he starts, a little apprehensive, “There's another thing I want to say..."

"Okay, I wasn't expecting more surprises. What is it?"

"Can't we just cancel this whole thing?"

Pierre doesn’t know how to feel when his fiancé did just announce that he doesn’t want to take part of their own wedding. The cute way Charles tilted his head to the side while asked such a question, although, manages to warm heart a little.

"What?”, his eyes widen, “Do you want to cancel our wedding? You were the one asking me if I would marry you seconds ago."

"Yes, I still want to get married too.”, Charles nods, “But not here. It doesn't feel right."

"Charles, we can't just kick the guests out.”, Pierre doesn’t even try to start a discussion with his best friend because he knows it’s a lost battle when the Monegasque has already made up his mind, “They are our family and friends."

"I know. We won't do that."

"What do you have in mind?"

Suddenly, Charles smirks and explains his entire plan to his fiancé.

"Summing up, you want us to run away."

"Exactly."

"The things you make me do...", the French driver groans, thinking of that his parents will be surprised by his unexpected escape.

"So, do you agree?", Charles asks, hopefully.

"Since I have no options here, let's run away."

Pierre shrugs because he can't really argue with his husband-to-be. He just wants to spend time together with favorite person in the world. It doesn’t matter where; the French driver would follow Charles anywhere he goes.

The approval from his fiancé is all the spy needs to start tapping on his phone. At least, he should let someone know about their whereabouts before their disappearance.

Then, Charles senses his body vibrate because of Pierre’s giggles – since the said one is resting his chin on Charles’ shoulder watching him write a message closely.

"What are you laughing about?"

"If we were stuck inside some 007's movie, you would be James Bond. That means I would be your Bond Girl?"

"You are so lucky I love you because that was lame."

\---💙---

**Monaco. 4:07 PM. Wedding day.**

Max senses something is off. He can't pinpoint what it means, but, somehow, he just knows.

It's not uncommon to Charles to be late – especially when he is the one getting married. Max rolls his eyes and wonders how much cliché it is to arrive late on your own wedding.

That doesn't explain a thing why Max has a bad feeling of what is happening.

He leaves the main hall, walking in the direction of the balconies.

The Dutchman tries to create a distraction for his mind while gazes the beautiful view of Monaco.

Some minutes in deep thought makes the buzz coming from his phone goes unnoticed.

Eventually, Max just unlocks his phone to check the current time when he sees there is a few messages from Charles, the same person who has been ignoring his texts for a week.

His feeling was quite right: something is _really_ wrong.

**From:** Fashion Prince

_Pierre and I aren't going to be able to make it to the wedding._

_Please, assure my mother I'm fine._

_I spoke to Lorenzo and Arthur. They will know what to do._

_Thank you for your advices, they worked. I'm really grateful._

_I'm sorry for making you come to Monaco for nothing._

_I trust you._

_And please, don’t hunt me on my own honeymoon. Wait until I come back to kill me._

Max stares at the screen, not trusting his own eyes.

He didn't expect Charles of all people to run away from his wedding. Aside that, he didn't expect his fiancé to agree to that crazy idea.

Max is _definitely_ going to kill him. He is sure that Pierre could find someone better than Charles to get married later.

"I'm going to kill that fucking bastard."

He said out-loud, grabbing his phone and using all his self-control to not throw it away – like this action could erase the messages out of his thoughts.

"Who are you going to kill? Should I help you?"

Someone joins in his one-person conversation.

Max didn’t even sense that person’s arrival, what made him more curious to see who it was. Max knows he has always been pretty perceptive.

He quickly turns his head to the side, taking a look on the stranger.

" _You_.”, the agent says after recognizing the new-comer, “What are you doing here?", he rolls his eyes.

"Surprise, I got invited too. How are you doing, _gorgeous_?"

Max is definitely not in the mood for this conversation.

It’s annoying how much Daniel can tire him out – even if he has done anything yet.

If people think Max is a cold person, then Daniel must be his totally opposite.

The Aussie is always smiling, joking and flirting. The Dutchman is always staring, analyzing and judging.

While Daniel likes to improvise during his outside missions, the Dutchman just prefers to stick to the script and follow the rules – rules that he created himself; _as if_ Max would listen someone who isn’t himself, but rules still rules.

That’s why they _don’t_ work together. That’s why they _shouldn’t_ work together again.

"Even if I want to punch you in the face right now, I want to kill Charles more.”, he replies, turning back and staring at the yellowish sky, “Have you got your answer?”

"Awn, thanks for the compliment.", Daniel takes a place besides Max, keeping the distance between them minimum, "What did Charles do this time?"

"It's what he didn't do.", Max sighs, "There will be no wedding."

"Really? Why-Oh, don't tell me Charles and Pierre had the conversation, and the latter wanted to end the relationship."

For a second, Max wonders how much Daniel knows about the lies Charles has been telling his own fiancé. He feels betrayed because he never thought that the Monegasque would trust the Aussie too much at that point, since Charles and Max were teammates for a long time – even if their relationship is based on being rivals.

"No, they are fine.”, Max has to use all his self-control to not blame Daniel for Charles’ mistakes since the Aussie is the only person available to talk at the moment, “They chose to run away and leave us here to deal with the circus, like clowns."

"Ah, that guy is really something...", Daniel laughs, plopping his chin on hand, “Young love is so refresh.”

"You mean something stupid. I wonder why I left my house during my day-off."

Max unlocks his phone to check the time for the nth time that afternoon.

"Of course, you left your house to see me.”, Max can tell Daniel is smiling without looking at him, “Obviously, I'm the highlight of the event."

"Ha, funny.”

The Dutchman is ready to roll his eyes again, but his eyes betray him and take a good look on Daniel. A quickly check out is more than enough to tell that he does look stunning. The Aussie is a total showstopper, Max has to agree. He always looks great without even putting effort in it.

"Suddenly, I remember that you still owe me something..."

"I don't owe you anything."

"Yes, you do.", Daniel pokes Max’s right cheek with his index finger, "A date."

"You better take a seat, then.”, the blue-eyed one shoves the finger off his face, “Because, guess what? It's not happening."

The Dutchman tries to keep the distance between them, but it’s a hard task to accomplish since the Aussie just follows him around the balcony.

"Maxy, I didn't portray you as a sore loser."

"I'm not.”, the agent does his best to ignore the ridiculous nickname, “You are just annoying."

"You lost our bet."

"I didn't bet."

Max gives Daniel his best glare, however it isn’t that useful because the older seems to be immune to his peculiar ability. Nothing Max can do will make Dan back off.

"Yes, _we_ did. I remember what you said back then."

Of course, Max remembers _that_ day. It isn’t like he can erase what happened. But it doesn’t mean he doesn’t try to.

Max came to the wedding because Charles asked, personally, him to do it. At first, he doesn’t even want to come. He doesn’t expect the events to turn out this way.

"Fuck you."

The Dutchman turns around to face Daniel after he heard the latter giggling.

"I wish. I'm just waiting for you to take me out to dinner first."

That was the nth Max rolled his eyes on the same day. Someone up there must really want to see him shuffle. 

The sound coming from his phone stops Max from lose his mind because of Daniel’s lame attempt to flirt.

Max feels stressed and he blames no one other than Charles.

Alex is right: maybe he should really start doing that yoga stuff.

Checking his phone, the Dutchman notices there are a lot of messages that Lando sent him in the last minutes. It’s his cue to get out that place before his teammate finds him and Daniel together and assumes things. Lando would never let him live if he manages to see that situation.

“I would love to make your wish come true, but someone needs me right now.”

Sarcastically, Max ends the conversation almost running away, afraid that maybe Daniel would interpret him wrong and follow him.

The Dutch agent can’t explain why leaving the balcony – and Daniel – becomes a hard task to accomplish.

Maybe it’s because Max finds the Aussie attractive and funny and likes to talk to him.

But he would rather die than admit it.

\---💗---

That day, Charles and Pierre exchanged rings at the same kart track where they had met for the first time.

(They raced again, and, to nobody’s surprise, Charles won. He _always_ wins).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading it! I will work on more stories for this series.
> 
> Is there anyone who feels sad for Ferrari’s terrible start of season? Because I call it karma. RBR should treat Alex better – nothing new –, but the crew did an amazing job at Max’s car. Pierre’s car on fire last weekend? Just give this man a hug and a good car, please.  
> And Mercedes is still winning /pretends to be surprised.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you all are staying safe and healthy! 
> 
> Thanks for reading! Kudos and comments are always appreciated!


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